Sinabi ni Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Frederick Go, na “fake news” ang pinagbasehan ng impormasyon ng chairman ng Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tungkol sa umano’y P1.7 trilyon na nawala sa stock market dahil sa usapin ng korupsiyon. Ang chairman ng SEC, humingi ng paumanhin at nagpaliwanag.

''Unfortunately po, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman was quoting a confirmed fake news socmed post designed to catch attention and falsely sensationalize,'' pahayag ni Go sa Palace press briefing nitong Huwebes.

''The attributed source confirmed na fake news po ito at hindi galing sa kanila. The fact is the drop wasn’t 12%. You may confirm this with the Philippine Stock Exchange or your favorite stockbroker; lahat po iyan, alam nila. Public knowledge po lahat ng index po natin. And I have personally confirmed this with the PSE president and the top brokers in the stock market,'' dagdag niya.

Nang tanungin tungkol sa mga nawalang investment pledges dahil sa isyu ng korupsiyon, sinabi ni Go na wala namang nawala, at patuloy pa rin umano ang pagdating ng mga commitment sa kabila ng kinahaharap na kontrobersiya sa bansa.

''On investment pledges, I don’t think we have lost anything. The pledges continue to come in, as a matter of fact, we are now transmitting to the Office of the President the approval of the first beneficiary of the CREATE MORE Act which is an investment from a Korean company of over one billion dollars,'' ani Go.

''The FIRB will be transmitting this to the Office of the President this week po. So, I don’t think we have lost any investment pledges because of this ongoing issue,'' patuloy niya.

Paglilinaw ni SEC Chair Lim

Ngayong hapon, naglabas ng pahayag si SEC chairperson Francis Lim para linawin na base ang kaniyang naging talumpati kung saan binanggit niya ang umano’y nawalang posibleng kita sa merkado mula sa isang ulat na inakala niyang mapagkakatiwalaan na galing sa industriya.

“I have since learned that the report was fictitious. I deeply regret any confusion or concern that my statement may have caused. My sole intent was to underscore the vital importance of integrity in our markets and the devastating impact corruption can have on investor confidence,” saad niya.

“Corruption is indeed a weapon of mass wealth destruction, and it is in this spirit that I appeal to all sectors to unite behind the Marcos Administration’s strong campaign against corruption,” sabi pa ni Lim.

Nitong Miyerkules, binigyang-diin ni Lim ang epekto ng isyu ng korupsiyon sa mga pamumuhunan sa bansa, at sinabing ang "weak integrity" ang sanhi ng pag-alis ng mga mamumuhunan at pagbagsak ng market value ng P1.7 trilyon sa loob lamang ng tatlong linggo.

Tinukoy rin niya ang pangangailangang mag-innovate nang hindi nawawala ang tiwala ng publiko, lalo na’t nasa sentro ng isyu ang mga flood control projects na iniimbestigahan na ngayon ng parehong kapulungan ng Kongreso at independent commission. — mula sa ulat ni Anna Felicia Bajo/FRJ GMA Integrated News